Arsenal v Liverpool Player Ratings – Who else but Mikel Arteta as MOTM?

Unbelievable stuff!! Good to be a Gooner. by Peter Doherty
Another display to quieten the doubters about the character of this young Arsenal team. The questions about their capacity to continue in this form are legitimate, but in a match where they lost the lead twice, the fact they displayed the necessary qualities to emerge victorious speaks volumes about the fighting spirit within the squad. Liverpool may be porous but they have incredible pedigree and a very potent attack and this result stands on merit.
Here are my ratings.
Ramsdale (7)
Could do very little with either goal as they were very good striker finishes. Distribution not on key in the same vein as the last few matches. Still  a very important vocal presence and his potential injury early in the game caused a lot of concern among Gooners, highlighting his importance.
White (8)
Growing game by game in his role at right back. Jota, so frequently a thorn in Arsenal’s side, was negated by White, and Tsimikas’s attacking forays were also snuffed out. But more impressive was his timely and incisive runs into the opposition’s box which caused the Liverpool defence constant dilemmas.
Saliba (7)
When Liverpool went directly through the middle Saliba looked unsettled for the first time in his Arsenal career. Was caught flat footed by Jota on the through ball for the second goal but also made several important interventions.
Gabriel (6)
For the second week running was uncomfortable dealing with a physical robust striker as Nunez caused him all manners of angst. Has the panic button pressed too often when he struggles to contain a forward and was fortunate to escape giving away a penalty. Gets 5 for his defensive work, but a 7 for his distribution which was very good.
Tomiyasu (8)
Just brilliant considering he was playing in an unfamiliar position. Was the reason why Salah was subbed as he had the complete measure of him throughout, and his ariel prowess is superb.
Partey (8)
He is world class. The best player in his position in the Premier League. Has every attribute that you could ask for in a defensive midfielder in his reading of the attacks and his timing of his tackles, and then there’s the excellent vision with his distribution.
Xhaka (8)
The new fans favorite continues to shine. Commanding and demanding and his chip over the Liverpool defender before volleying over the bar is the mark of a man thoroughly enjoying his game.
Odegaard (8)
He is such a visionary that sometimes his work goes unnoticed because he sees and executes the pass so quickly. What was noticeable however was his brilliant contribution for the first two goals. Very few midfielders see those passes, never mind play them.
Saka (9)
Back to his best. Almost enough said in that statement alone, as we have witnessed the boy being one of the most exciting attackers in the game over the past two seasons. But his courage and focus on taking the penalty deserves to be highlighted.
Martinelli (9)
He was unplayable. Arsenal have a genuine superstar on their hands. His ability to almost never lose the ball regardless of the pressure applied is almost supernatural.  The Liverpool defence had no idea what to do with him.
Jesus (8)
He must be the biggest pain in the ass to play against. His ability to shape defenders considerably larger than him is an education for all forwards. The way he backs in and subtly fouls his opponent is incredibly clever and a nightmare to defend. Of course there’s the twinkle-toed brilliance, but you have to love his mastery of the dark arts.
MOTM Arteta.
An inspired and brave selection to play Tomiyasu at left back. His prowess in the air blunted the potential effectiveness of the long cross field ball that has caused us so much damage in recent meetings with Liverpool. Furthermore, Tomiyasu’s favouring of his right foot made him perfect to prevent Salah’s dangerous inverted runs. Arteta’s decision to go to a back five after the third goal was demonstrative of a coach maturing in his game management.
Take a bow Mikel.
Peter

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23 Comments

  1. The spine of the team all score high again.

    Xhaka 8.5
    Partey 8.5
    Ben 8.5
    Saka 8.5
    Tomi 8.5
    Martinelli 8.5
    Ramsdale 7
    Odegaard 7
    Saliba 7
    Jesus 7
    Gabriel 6

  2. Ramsdale : Made excellent saves, but Liverpool’s attackers were lethal from tight angles. I also wish he can be as accurate as Allison in the future, who lobbed the ball frequently to Tsimikas

    Magalhaes : Made another mistake, but it was expected because we couldn’t press Liverpool’s defense up high the pitch in the first half. I believed Allison’s lob passing accuracy made our high press ineffective and this allowed them to pin our defense down

    Tomiyasu: Was great at defending, but I think he needs more time to improve his offensive passes and moves from the LB position

    Partey : Was indispensable as our deep-midfield anchor

    Martinelli : His dribbling skills and pace are very scary. He seems able to get past any EPL defender if he’s fully motivated, unfortunately he would most likely not go to Qatar because of Vinicius Jr and Neymar

    Jesus : Gave us some ways out of Liverpool’s pressure as our front-line pivot

    1. Brazil has great talent that we all know of, besides Neymar, Martineli has been the best Brazilian winger in Europe for me. For me he beats Vinicius Jnr hands down, but but but…… let me not get into Brazilian politics as long as Martineli is performing at Arsenal all is well

      1. Vinicius Jr seems to have more tricks up his sleeve and Brazil have too many extraordinary left wingers. Martinelli can focus on Arsenal now

        1. Vinicius is great but his advantage over Martineli is playing for the best team in the world (Madrid)and hype he generates, I mean Vinicius has always been highly rated and started somewhere but Martineli begun from the very bottom.

          But my argument is not only Vinicius but Martineli should be getting in that Brazilian team

          1. Yup, Vinicius Jr was already famous as a wonderkid before joining Real Madrid and he is currently playing at the most successful club in European Cup history

            Aside from Neymar and him, Brazil still have Rodrygo, Richarlison and Everton Soares for the LW role

            1. I honestly feel, he’d have been better off playing for Italy…would have been d Italian wonderkid and a mainstay in d team

    2. Excellent analysis there mate.
      Let me add further by saying i would be happy if our Brazilian trio DOESNT go to the world cup. Players get injured there or come back tired depending on far their National Team goes.

      On Martinelli: He needs to start running a bit more inside as opposed to very close to the touch line as it makes his runs ineffective at times.

      On Odegaard: He just needs to add a bit of power to his game (seeing he is more of an Ozil at the moment).

      LETS GO GUNNERS!!

  3. Good scores Peter and good to highlight the great things Ødegaard does quietly and under the radar, I think he pre assisted both goals. The two full backs were brilliant, defensively and offensively but my on field man of the match was Martinelli and of course off field was Arteta for his brave inspired selections.

  4. Most important was not a single passenger on the pitch. Every player handled their responsibilities, and a joy to watch how they play as a team.

    Martinelli was simply unplayable, punished TAA and sent him packing. Partey does his job so smoothly, no flash or flair just master oof keeping things simple and moving forward.

    Tomi and White were superb, don’t think Robertson would have had much success either.

    Telling when pool started kicking and getting physical. It showed that mentally they knew Arsenal were outplaying them and needed to dark arts to get a foothold or any momentum.

  5. There are three players indispensable to this team, our spine. Gabriel Jesus, Thomas Partey and William Saliba. Tho whole team are on fire, but the loss of any of those would dilute us significantly. I hope Partey stays uninjured…..he is a monster.

    1. How could you be so sure when we’ve actually not lost any of them apart from Partey?
      I think we would do just fine if we lost Saliba as long as White and Tomi are available.

  6. We have beaten
    Spurs, Liverpool at the Emirates so far, if we also beat City, Chelsea, utd also at the Emirates and pick up a few draws at their home we could get very close this year, we definitely can beat teams outside of the top 6 home and Away…

  7. No doubt, we outclassed Liverpool in all spheres yesterday. Now, we’ve shown characters we can play the big teams hands down. All credits to my gut, Mikel Arteta and Edu. They’re doing a fantastic job in the squad.
    Martineli was damned superb. Thorn in any defense at the moment along with Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka.
    Keep it up guys. Kudos.

  8. MOTM should be a player on the field and it’s Martinelli. Arteta showed brilliant game management though.

  9. Someone commented there was not a single passenger for Arsenal yesterday and let’s remember who our defenders are going up against. Just like the goalkeeper’s mistakes are magnified more when a goal comes from a mistake you make as a defender. Referencing the criticism of Gabriel. He was going up against a Liverpools attack who we all know are formidable. Defenders only have the goal keeper to bail them out. Yesterday some of our midfielders gave the ball away cheaply but lucky for them the back line was there to bail them out so I think some should go a little easier on Gabriel! He’s not a mustafi or sokratis. He has made some mistakes but he’s also had some match winning performances for us. Him and Saliba together I believe will form a partnership to rival other top partnerships.
    The team was magnificent yesterday and showed the kind of fight that wins things! We will win a trophy this year…
    Does Arteta pick Tomi at left back for our biggest games???

  10. How many players, let alone defenders, would have raced up in attack and let Martinelli’s pass run to Saka for the tap-in on the second goal? Gabriel was a full participant in that vital action. That said, I can’t believe the handball wasn’t given against him. Under this year’s rules, that’s a penalty. Since I’m a gooner, I salute this bit of refereeing and non-VARing.

    Tsimikas was very lucky not to be sent off for his deliberate elbow to Jesus’s face. And I don’t understand why anyone would complain about the penalty for kicking Jesus just as he was about to strike a crossed ball a couple yards in front of goal.

    1. Yes Jesus contribution to Saka goal went on notice.

      Think the referee though Gabriel hand was too close to the action hence why the penalty was not awarded.
      But it was a decision that could have gone any way in my opinion

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